Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova join WTA Birmingham field

0The WTA event in Birmingham will have six major champions competing after former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and two-time former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova accepted wild cards.

Britain’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu has confirmed she will be playing in Birmingham for the first time this year, with former world No.1 Simona Halep, Jelena Ostapenko and Sloane Stephens also entered for the main draw that gets underway on June 13.

Now that stellar field will have two more major title winners, with WTA world No.2 Krejcikova confirming her intention to play in Birmingham after a year that has seen her reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open before an elbow injury disrupted her progress in recent months.

Krejcikova said:

"I am excited to be playing in Birmingham this year. The grass-court season is always special. After a longer than expected break due to my injury, I am very excited to be healthy again and look forward to starting my grass-court season in Birmingham.”

Kvitova added:

“I’m so happy to be coming back to Birmingham. It’s a tournament I have wonderful memories from and where I know I can play well. I’m particularly happy that I get to help the Rothesay Classic celebrate its 40th birthday!”